Friday, November 17, 2017

It is almost two weeks after the Diwali break and so much has
happened...

Before the break was over we
kept mulling about surprising the children and still making it
meaningful. This was very important as most of our children are new this year
and a break resets even the most settled children. The thought was that we
do something that will make the children fall in love with coming back to school.

Courtesy: Peace Montessori

Courtesy: Peace Montessori

We agreed to beautify the walk
up to school in a manner that will connect with both children and parents. To our
delight the smiles that greeted us were way more stretched than we expected.
The conversations rolled with laughter at the entrance itself. Any apprehensions that may have existed vanished and were replaced with clear eagerness.
What met us inside the classroom was what we had truly desired. The children
had been missing the school and their friends. On the first day the circle time, that was meant to be 10 minutes stretched to 45 minutes, with many hugs and
stories galore, every child out doing the other.

Courtesy: Peace Montessori

Courtesy: Peace Montessori

We began the session with
introduction to fall season. The pleasant weather and the colours of the season
fill both the adults and children with vibrancy alike. Both the seasons' exercise and the colourful spirals brought out excitement in children and kick
started our measurements module with many and few.

Courtesy: Peace Montessori

Keeping the connect going with
home, the show and tell on "My favourite memory of the Diwali break" brought
out such a variety in children - paintings, Diwali activities, small
collectibles, time spent with the parents are the few things they talked about.

Courtesy: Parent

We had just blinked our eyes and the week passed. The next
week was followed by a day of outdoor learning. This was a dream come true… We
have been trying to accomplish this for the last two years. A visit to a green
patch of our busy suburb with no external motivation of slides, swings and more
took children by a surprise. After an initial hitch in understanding the
purpose of the visit they were at home and very excited with the dry barks of the
trees, the fallen twigs, leaves, pebbles and ready to explore sounds and
silence in the open – the learning had begun.

Courtesy: Peace Montessori

Courtesy: Peace Montessori

The outdoor learning had created enough excitement to experiment
being gardners at school.

The class has been buzzing with activity with materials and
otherwise - with drawings, with conversations, with observations - all culminating
in a rhythmic experience on Children’s day with Djembe and seasonal
carol jingles ….